Naturally Hamilton Guide

A Guide to the Green Spaces of the City of Hamilton and Area Sharp-lobed Hepatica, by Graham Wright Nature In Hamilton: Our Home, Our Future amiltonians and our neighbours by both human and natural history. H The City of Hamilton has the have enjoyed the rich diversity of signature of glaciers written on its plants, animals and natural areas landscape, from the Lake Iroquois’ around the city for generations. gravel bars at Burlington Heights Situated in and around the and the Hamilton Beach Strip, to Niagara Escarpment, the City of the high drumlin fields amid the Hamilton has much to offer its wetlands of Flamborough. The Red residents and visitors. We live at Hill Valley in east Hamilton contains the head of Lake Ontario, the last traces of the first human link in the chain of Great Lakes. inhabitants from over 11,000 years This unique spot supports many ago. In the days before European different types of habitats settlement, the Timber Rattlesnake, including fens, swamps, bogs, Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle, Carolinian forests, tallgrass Black Bear, Elk, Pine Marten, and prairies, meadows, thickets, hundreds of thousands of creek valleys, and the rocky profile Passenger Pigeons shared this of the Niagara Escarpment. land. These habitats and the diversity of There have been many changes in this landscape have been shaped our landscape over the past centuries. Urban and industrial development in the City of Hamilton has removed and fragmented the wetlands, forests, and prairies which were present before settlement. Other pressures on natural ecosystems include invasive species, climate change, and pollution. Over time we have Spencer Gorge, Chris Hamilton recognized the importance of natural areas and biodiversity to are busy breeding and hunting in our quality of life. wetlands. Asters, goldenrods, and prairie wildflowers are ablaze with However, many agencies, dazzling violets, scarlet, ginger, and organizations and landowners yellows in the fall. Equip yourself have been working diligently to with snow boots, a toque and parka restore, protect and promote the for the annual Christmas Bird rehabilitation and restoration of our Count – a tradition that has been natural environment. The next time observed for over 100 years! you visit Hamilton Harbour, Cootes Paradise, the Dundas Valley, or In producing this field booklet, the Red Hill Valley, take a close look intent is to share the natural beauty at the vegetation and you may and uniqueness of Hamilton with see newly planted seedlings or fellow citizens and people from vegetated buffers alongside the around the world. We hope you creeks. Don’t forget to read the enjoy this publication and visit interpretive signage that illustrates many of the sites described here. what projects that have been Having shared with you the wonder completed in that area. of Hamilton’s natural areas, we invite you to join us in our efforts to When choosing a natural area to protect these natural spaces for visit it is best to use the seasons present and future generations. as your cue for seeing particular wildlife. In March and April, head to the Hamilton Escarpment above Enjoy your visit! the Red Hill Creek to see the annual raptor migration of soaring Bald Eagles, Broad-winged Hawks, Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and many other raptors. Early April rainy nights are the best time to hear male frogs calling the females at ponds, swamps, and marshes. Songbirds sing through May and June at the peak of their breeding season. Butterflies make their mark in the summer with Dundas Valley, dragonflies and damselflies, who Hamilton Conservation Authority View of Downtown Hamilton, Rick Cordeiro What’s Alive in Hamilton? n the City of Hamilton there are*: United States. Trees such as I Sassafras, Tulip Tree and Eastern • 1000+ species of native plants Flowering Dogwood, and • 171 breeding species of birds wildflowers such as Tall Bellflower, • 8 species of snakes Horsebalm, and Yellow Giant • 7 species of turtles Hyssop are Carolinian species • 17 species of frogs, toads and which occur in the Hamilton area. salamanders The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly and • 43 species of mammals the Virginia Opossum are also • 100 species of butterflies species which live here in Hamilton • 98 species of dragonflies and but are more commonly damselflies associated with the Carolinas. • 87 species of fishes Migrating birds follow the shores of Lake Superior and Georgian Bay Surprised? Many people do not and then fly overland to Lake realize how naturally diverse the Ontario on their way south in the City is. The City of Hamilton is fall. They follow this route back to uniquely situated at the extreme end of Lake Ontario and at a bend their nesting sites in the spring in the Niagara Escarpment. Such a when they return from the U.S., geographically diverse location and Central and South America. At allows residents and visitors alike the head of Lake Ontario, Hamilton to see many interesting plant and is a stop-over or “staging” area for wildlife species. The City of migrating birds. We can see many Hamilton is at the northern tip of a ducks, shorebirds, raptors, and small ecological zone in Canada song birds such as colourful known as “Carolinian Canada” warblers during their migration to which encompasses the and from the south. In the winter, southernmost portion of Ontario Hamilton Harbour and the shores and occurs nowhere else in this of Lake Ontario are also home to country. many waterfowl. Many species of plants and animals occur here because the *Source: Hamilton Natural Heritage Database 2013 summer climate approaches that Source: Fisheries Management Database 2007 of North and South Carolina in the Source: Hamilton Naturalists’ Club Did you know that over 1500 species have These birds choose not to fly farther Bloodroot, Chris Hamilton south because they can still find food such as fish, aquatic insects, and molluscs right here in Ontario. Natural areas are identified as Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) in the City of Hamilton’s Official Plan when they meet one or more of the following criteria: u they provide an important ecological function, such as corridors for wildlife movement; u they provide an important hydrological function, such as ground water recharge or headwater source for streams; u they have a high diversity of species of plants or animals; u they contain significant earth science features of geological interest; u they contain significant vegetation communities, for example tall grass Barred Owl, Hamilton Conservation Authority prairie or oak savannah habitat; u they support significant species of plants or animals, ranging from nationally Endangered to locally Rare species; or u they have an educational, scientific, aesthetic or historical value to humans. Dundurn Staircase, Rick Cordeiro been recorded in the City of Hamilton? BIODIVERSITY of fish in streams. Shrubs and Biological diversity is the total trees provide windbreaks which variety of life on Earth. It includes reduce loss of topsoil and the total number of every improve commercial agricultural individual plant and animal, and yields. the degree of difference between them. The concept reflects the Fundamentally, all green plants interrelationships of genes, release oxygen which animals species and ecosystems. require for life! There may also be Because genes are the many species of bacteria, fungi, components of species, and and plants in our region and across species are the components of the planet which we do not yet ecosystems, altering the make up recognize as directly important to of any level of this web can our health and well being. For this change the others. (Reid and reason we must work to prevent Miller, 1989) the loss of species from our environment. No one knows, even to the nearest order of magnitude, how Species in communities have many life forms humanity shares unique ways of avoiding predators, the planet with: roughly 1.4 million locating food and capturing and species have been identified, but handling prey. As a result of these scientists now believe the total traits, inter-dependent number is between 10 million and relationships among species are 80 million. (Ryan, 1992) common. The consequences of an extinction or loss of natural areas Humans have historically been are unknown. For human survival most concerned with those and for the sake of the species with species that are commercially whom we share our planet, we valuable to them. Many organisms should respect and preserve all contribute to the ecosystem, parts of biological communities. allowing for the survival of those species which are commercially important to humans. For A GENE is a unit of hereditary example, the roots of many wild information (DNA). Genes are very plants secure streambeds and stable units which are passed from absorb snowmelt, guarding parent to young and they against flooding and erosion. profoundly influence every aspect of an organism. This function enhances and helps to maintain the spawning habitat Did you know that dragonflies and damselflies form a A SPECIES is a group of individuals who are able to mate and produce fertile offspring among themselves, but are not able to do so with other groups. An ECOSYSTEM is a community of organisms interacting with one another and the environment in which they live. A pond, a forest, a prairie or desert and the organisms that inhabit each are examples of ecosystems. Black-Eyed Susan, Chris Hamilton Sources Reid, W.V. and Miller, K.R. 1989. Great Blue Heron, Conservation Ontario Keeping Options Alive: The Scientific Basis for Conserving Biodiversity. World Resources Institute. Washing- ton, D.C. Ryan, J.C. 1992. Conserving Biological Diversity. In State of the World 1992. Brown, L.R. (Ed.) Worldwatch Institute. Washington. D.C. Northern Cardinal, Conservation Ontario Snapping Turtle, Bob Curry “mating wheel” when they mate? Wildlife In Hamilton Birds Butterflies The Hamilton area is especially rich Butterflies are rewarding to study with bird species.

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